New rumors surfaced recently that Jenna Coleman plans on stepping away from her role as the Doctor's companion Clara this season in Doctor Who.
The rumors come courtesy of The Mirror, who also reported the same thing last year (as Who fans know, Coleman stayed on with the role).
This time around, Coleman reportedly plans on leaving Doctor Who to take on the role of Queen Victoria in a big-budget drama for ITV. The Mirror assumes this means that she's leaving Doctor Who, although no one associated with Doctor Who's production has actually stated so.
The BBC also reported on Coleman's leaving, but oddly enough, included a statement that ITV hasn't yet confirmed casting for the Queen Victoria series, and that its own parent company had not confirmed that Coleman is, in fact, leaving Doctor Who:
"The BBC has also declined to confirm Coleman's departure from Doctor Who."
Of course, that makes Doctor Who fans wonder why the BBC would, more or less, report Coleman's departure as fact, rather than rumor, which, at this stage, is all it is.
But these rumors seem to happen on a yearly basis, with each new season bringing a new reason that someone plans on leaving the show. Last year's rumor was the same: stating that the actress would get written off the series in the Christmas episode.
Of course, even if Coleman does plan on leaving at the end of the year, that still makes her the longest-running companion on the series since its revival in 2005, so perhaps this time, there is some truth to the speculation.
Coleman began her Doctor Who career as a girl-turned-Dalek with Matt Smith's Doctor, eventually turning up as Clara, the girl who eventually traveled throughout the Doctor's time stream. Coleman stuck around as Clara for Peter Capaldi's first season of the Doctor, with many fans thrilled at the new relationship formed by the two as Doctor and companion.
The Doctor Who season premiere airs on BBC and BBC America on Saturday, Sept. 19.
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